radar
In 1886 Heinrich Hertz showed that radio waves could be reflected by solid
objects, setting in motion the technological advancements that would become
Radar and even leading to microwave ovens. This work was to be heavily developed
and improved upon during the war, particularly by the British who had need of
the technology to detect incoming bombers during the Battle of Britain and
scramble a fighter response.
With the prospect of war looming over Britain, investigations were made into
the potential weapons that the Germans might deploy. One worry was a 'death ray'
was being prepped, following a claim by Nikola Tesla. In 1935 Robert Watson
Watt, an expert in radio, was contacted to find out if radio waves could be used
in this 'death ray'. Watt, after talking to his assistant Arnold F. 'Skip'
Wilkins wrote back that it was unlikely, but added a comment that said,
"Attention is being turned to the still difficult, but less unpromising, problem
of radio detection and numerical considerations on the method of detection by
reflected radio waves will be submitted when required."
Several weeks
Wilkins submitted a paper called The Detection of Aircraft by Radio Methods,
which outlined how a transmitter and receiver could be built to bounce radio
waves off an airplane for detection. Proof was needed.
On February 26 1935, Wilkins showed a demonstration with a receiver set in a
field in Northamptonshire. A Handley Page Heyford bomber flew on a path between
the receiver and the BBC shortwave transmitter. The aircraft reflected the
signal and the Air Ministry was convinced that this new technology could work
and development of the new technology, called Range and Direction Finding (RDF),
began. The name was partially picked, because the acronym was the same as for
Radio Direction Finding, a well-known existing technology. It was the US that
coined the term Radar, which stands for Radio Detection and Ranging.
One of the first deployments of Radar was in the Chain Home system, designed
to act as an early warning of attacks. It was primitive and looked nothing like
other radar systems. It had no rotating dishes and the transmitters were fixed
wire strung between 110m-high towers. Receivers were mounted on 75m tall wooden
poles. With these towers erected along Britain's coast from Portsmouth to Orkney
Islands, the coast was covered. While there were some problems, the system gave
an early warning of German attacks and allowed the RAF to accurately scramble
fighter responses.
Of course, the British weren't the only ones developing Radar and the Germans
had their own version. One of the main uses for the German Freya Radar was in
the Kammhuber Line, which ran from Denmark to the middle of France. This line of
radar detection would pick up any Allied bombing attacks, allowing the Germans
to scramble their night fighters.
Particularly scary for Allied bomber pilots were the master searchlights,
which were Radar controlled. These would lock onto a bomber, then the other
manually controlled lights targeted onto the plane, lighting it up for
anti-aircraft batteries and night fighters to attack.
In turn this led to the British coming up with counter-measures. One of the
most simple was called Window. Using this system the rear gunner would throw out
strips of foil, which would appear on the German Radar as enemy planes,
distracting them from the real attack and helping to confuse the master search
lights. It was first used to devastating effect on the attack on Hamburg, where
a firestorm practically wiped out the city.
IMPROVED ACCURACY
Where the Allies really won out was through the development of the cavity
magnetron. This microwave transmitter (now used in microwave ovens to heat
food), allowed for smaller, more accurate radar systems to be created that could
detect much smaller objects.
SOURCE: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/general/1286401/top-10-technical-innovations-of-world-war-2/5
objects, setting in motion the technological advancements that would become
Radar and even leading to microwave ovens. This work was to be heavily developed
and improved upon during the war, particularly by the British who had need of
the technology to detect incoming bombers during the Battle of Britain and
scramble a fighter response.
With the prospect of war looming over Britain, investigations were made into
the potential weapons that the Germans might deploy. One worry was a 'death ray'
was being prepped, following a claim by Nikola Tesla. In 1935 Robert Watson
Watt, an expert in radio, was contacted to find out if radio waves could be used
in this 'death ray'. Watt, after talking to his assistant Arnold F. 'Skip'
Wilkins wrote back that it was unlikely, but added a comment that said,
"Attention is being turned to the still difficult, but less unpromising, problem
of radio detection and numerical considerations on the method of detection by
reflected radio waves will be submitted when required."
Several weeks
Wilkins submitted a paper called The Detection of Aircraft by Radio Methods,
which outlined how a transmitter and receiver could be built to bounce radio
waves off an airplane for detection. Proof was needed.
On February 26 1935, Wilkins showed a demonstration with a receiver set in a
field in Northamptonshire. A Handley Page Heyford bomber flew on a path between
the receiver and the BBC shortwave transmitter. The aircraft reflected the
signal and the Air Ministry was convinced that this new technology could work
and development of the new technology, called Range and Direction Finding (RDF),
began. The name was partially picked, because the acronym was the same as for
Radio Direction Finding, a well-known existing technology. It was the US that
coined the term Radar, which stands for Radio Detection and Ranging.
One of the first deployments of Radar was in the Chain Home system, designed
to act as an early warning of attacks. It was primitive and looked nothing like
other radar systems. It had no rotating dishes and the transmitters were fixed
wire strung between 110m-high towers. Receivers were mounted on 75m tall wooden
poles. With these towers erected along Britain's coast from Portsmouth to Orkney
Islands, the coast was covered. While there were some problems, the system gave
an early warning of German attacks and allowed the RAF to accurately scramble
fighter responses.
Of course, the British weren't the only ones developing Radar and the Germans
had their own version. One of the main uses for the German Freya Radar was in
the Kammhuber Line, which ran from Denmark to the middle of France. This line of
radar detection would pick up any Allied bombing attacks, allowing the Germans
to scramble their night fighters.
Particularly scary for Allied bomber pilots were the master searchlights,
which were Radar controlled. These would lock onto a bomber, then the other
manually controlled lights targeted onto the plane, lighting it up for
anti-aircraft batteries and night fighters to attack.
In turn this led to the British coming up with counter-measures. One of the
most simple was called Window. Using this system the rear gunner would throw out
strips of foil, which would appear on the German Radar as enemy planes,
distracting them from the real attack and helping to confuse the master search
lights. It was first used to devastating effect on the attack on Hamburg, where
a firestorm practically wiped out the city.
IMPROVED ACCURACY
Where the Allies really won out was through the development of the cavity
magnetron. This microwave transmitter (now used in microwave ovens to heat
food), allowed for smaller, more accurate radar systems to be created that could
detect much smaller objects.
SOURCE: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/general/1286401/top-10-technical-innovations-of-world-war-2/5